Garret Dillahunt

CHICAGO – FOX announced today that they have renewed their three biggest critical hits, the Tuesday night comedies “New Girl,” “Raising Hope,” and “Glee.” Kevin Reilly, President of Entertainment, Fox Broadcasting Company, made the announcement via press release, in advance of the company’s official May Fall schedule announcement. The renewals for smash hit “New Girl” and reliable performer “Glee” came as a surprise to no one. “Raising Hope” was closer to the bubble and so the early renewal makes for good news for its fans.

CHICAGO – Networks have long attempted four consecutive comedies on one night but it’s not a common thing to find on FOX (at least not live-action). So when it was announced that FOX would try to replicate what CBS has on Mondays, ABC has on Wednesdays, and NBC has on Thursdays with their own four-in-a-row on Tuesday nights, TV watchers were curious.

CHICAGO – I fall a bit more in love with “Raising Hope” every week. I went as far as to suggest that the series deserved Emmy nominations for Best Comedy Series, Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series (Martha Plimpton), and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (Garrett Dillahunt) — one out of three came true as Plimpton actually made a run at the trophy. This show just kept getting better as the first season progressed. Check it out now on DVD and see what the growing buzz is about.

CHICAGO – One of the nice twists of the Fox sitcom “Raising Hope,” is that it doesn’t so much rely on the cute baby named Hope, preferring to focus on the strange people who are in charge of “nurturing” her upbringing. The wackiness continues for a second season starting September 20th on FOX.

CHICAGO – After a few misfires recently, FOX seems to have found a program to be proud of in the promising sitcom “Raising Hope,” which they announced today will be renewed for the 2011-12 season. The Tuesday night program airs at 8pm CST.

CHICAGO – Like the last show from its creator (“My Name is Earl”), the new FOX sitcom “Raising Hope” too-often feels like its underlining and pushing its jokes through the screen in desperation for a laugh but the cast of this new comedy entry is the best of the season and their talent alone should overcome the occasional bit of flop sweat.

CHICAGO – The long-delayed and highly-anticipated adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road” has moments of stark beauty and a typically fantastic lead performance from Viggo Mortensen, but the film ultimately misses its mark as a whole piece, coming off numbing its bleak, repetitive view of the end of the world instead of inspiring emotionally or creatively.

CHICAGO – The excellent Blu-Ray release for the second season of “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles” highlights what worked about this series that was cancelled far too soon. There were storytelling flaws and a male lead that never quite worked, but “SCC” delivered theatrical caliber sci-fi entertainment every week and it looks absolutely amazing in HD. It’s a show that will be missed.

CHICAGO – Dennis Iliadis’ brutal and accomplished remake of Wes Craven’s influential horror classic “The Last House on the Left,” now available on Blu-Ray and DVD, deserves a much better home release than the typically reliable Universal/Rogue has delivered for horror fans this week.

Rating: 4.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Dennis Illiadis’ remake of “The Last House on the Left” is the exception the proves the rule that most horror movie remakes are a complete waste of time. With an incredible performance by Garret Dillahunt (“Deadwood,” “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”) and great supporting work by Monica Potter, Sara Paxton, Tony Goldwyn, and others, “Last House” is the best mainstream horror movie in a long time.